My vote is keep the tub. It will be useful with small childen. I can't see the vanity or toilet wall in your pics. Can you put in a recessed medicie cabinet over the vanity and maybe a cabinet above the toilet or trainrack for towels?

It also looks like there is a small closet across the hall, can that have shelves put in to act as a linen closet?

Thanks, appletini,

Yup, that little closet across the hall is the linen closet now. But we need space for a teen girl's "stuff"right in the bathroom itself. I'd hoped to be able to use a pedestal or floating vanity to try to open up the space, since right now, with the to-the-floor vanity it just feels so crowded. But of course either of those reduce storage by a lot.

There's an large medicine cabinet and an over-the-toilet cabinet in there now, and both serve to crowd the space even more. So I was looking for ways to make it more open.

My gut says you're right, though... and the tub would be a more popular option. I'm so torn--- that's why looking for more input!

Thanks.

I think the whole tub for resale is an urban legend :) Not exactly, but it sort of feels like 20 years ago when you were choosing between a room with a tiny stall shower or a room big enough for a tub, everyone preferred the tub. Showers were never the luxury option they are now. I have two small children - and while it's true that you want a tub for toddlers, it is frankly a pretty small window when a tub is needed. By the time my kids were 5 or 6 they preferred showers. BTW I would also say that at least half of my friends with small children use the master tub anyway. I would go with the shower - BUT make it rooomy, if it looks like the room is so small you could only install a small shower that would be a huge negative for resale.

We currently have a pedestal sink in our master (which will be become a vanity with the remodel) so what I do right now for my stuff is I have some canvas baskets from Bed Bath & Beyond that I keep stuff in. One has hair stuff, another makeup. I have more in the linen closet for various items...helps keeps things organized and easy to move around. I just keep them on the floor under the sink. We also have a mini cabinet next to the sink to store stuff, however this mostly used for DH's things. However as a girl the biggest challenge is being able to have a place to put the hairdryer, flatiron/curling iron while I am using them. Fortunately we have a pony wall on the other side of the sink that I balance those items on while I am getting ready. Keeping a small vanity like you have now will be really helpful to have a place to put items while they are being used.

canvas bins

mini cabinet

Also I saw this on the Martha Stewart site awhile back...its an over the door toiletry shelf for infrequently used items.

Toiletry Shelf

That over-the-door shelf is a great idea!!!

The shower is one of those 36" neo-angle ones. 36" is the outside measurement, so the uesable interior space is less. Not teensy, but not luxurious by any means. The choice is between that and a regular tub/shower combo.

{{gwi:1404268}}

I'd go with the tub/shower. My child still takes a bath, plus I bathe my dog in her bath because it is shallower than mine.

I would not buy a house that didn't have a tub in the kid's bathroom. I am not even a bath person. I don't care at all whether the master has a bath, but I don't want to lean into a deep soaker or whirlpool to bathe kids and pets. I also don't like pedestals in the kids bath.

Sorry, I have similar dimensions (5' x 7'9"), so have given this some thought. I have to replace a tub/shower with a new tub/shower simply because I hate almond.

Don't be sorry! That's exactly the kind of input I am looking for :)

How long are you planning to stay in this house? If five years or longer I'd put in the shower myself.

People with babies or small children are usually looking for a house with three bedrooms or more and you have a tub in the master.

People want storage too and if you can add a lot more storage and your daughter prefers showers and you aren't planning on selling soon then you should do what works best for your family.

Remodeling for resale is a gamble and you are the one living there.

I've stepped over the bathtub to take a shower for fifteen years and am so freaking sick of it. I have Fibromyalgia and end up whacking my foot on the track for the doors all the time because I can't lift my leg high enough without pain early in the morning. DH refuses to rip out the tub because it is the only bath. Worried about resale. It is a two bedroom house, who the heck is going to buy it with kids? It has a hot tub and multiple water features in the garden with basically no back yard for kids to play in. Not a kid's house or neighborhood.

I don't have an answer to the tub/shower resale question, but I'm wondering if you can steal some space with recessed shelves or cabinets in any of the walls, maybe to the left of the window or over the toilet? The shelves could be open/visible, or hidden like the cabinets in the link.

I really like these concealed cabinets, but I think they're kind of expensive. Maybe there is something less expensive out there or you could DIY something similar.

I think shelving over the door is a great idea too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Concealed cabinets

Thanks guys-

Resale is in 4 years or less.

Shelving/cabinets in the walls: yes , we're definitely planning that where possible. (This is 100% DIY and DH is a boatbuilder, so we have the abilities to do that sort of thing.) Unfortunately the window wall is an exterior wall built of structural masonry, so nothing can be recessed there!

I was wrong about the 36" shower... it's basically 36" interior space, not less as I said above.

I guess the question is whether a more spacious-feeling, airy, pleasant bathroom (i.e. with shower stall and less obtrusive storage) trumps the more crowded bathroom with the "more desirable for resale" tub combo... in real life. I just don't know.

Tub/shower combo would have a shower curtain, which visually shortens the room.

Floor plans would be as shown. The current floor plan, which would remain largely the same in the tub/shower layout, has little useable floor space. it feels crowded in there. I'm not sure whether the shower floorplan works any better or not...

Existing floorplan. If we did a new tub/shower and vanity adn kept this layout the same, it would be the least amount of work. But... crowded?!?

Shower plan. We'd have to move the door AND move the toilet over about 6". Would not have to move the stack, just the trap.

Tub plan with door moved. The toilet would stay in the same place, so plumbing is easier. We'd have to move the door. But is the floor space a lot more useable this way (even if we keep a tub)?

Staceyneil:
Not to go off topic here but I love the vanity in your master. Can you tell me more about it?

Thanks, wi-sailorgirl. We had it made. It's basically the same design as an Ikea Godmorgon vanity (in fact those are the Ikea legs) but we had a cabinet made out of African mahogany, and DH made the mahogany top himself. There are George-Nelson-style pulls on it, now. The sinks are Porcher knock-offs we got on eBay. It is 60" wide.

I vote for number 3 - I don't think the neoangle is big enough to compensate for the lack of a tub - and as resale is so high on your list, I'm changing my answer :)

I would look at doing a huge recessed medicine cabinet over the sink - RH has one almost 2x3 feet:

As well as some recessed shelves to the right for more decorative storage

I would caution against the pedestal sink - I think the lack of storage would more than overwhelm the added storage - what about something that looks smaller visually, but still has storage:

{{gwi:1404272}}

Thanks, debbie... What you describe is exactly what I'd planned: a recessed med cab over the sink and shelving between the studs to the right of it. Probably with a cabinet door over it (DD is NOT a very organized, neat kid....)

And, if we move the door, the whole pedestal-sink thing is a non-issue because you're no longer looking in the open door directly at the side of the vanity, like now. So, we'll probably do a custom vanity with all drawers.

I guess if we keep the shower curtain pulled back when not in use, the room won't seem TOO small....

or what about a vanity like this? I'm planning to use the 48" one in my master but paint it another color
vanity

or

vanity 2

or

vanity 3

overstock.com has some good ones too.

I think that your last plan keeping the tub may be your best bet. The changes you've made to the plan make your line of sight long and uncluttered which makes the room appear larger. Currently, you walk in smack into the side of the vanity and a wall which makes the room appear much smaller.

I'd go with the third option, either with the tub or with a 3 x 5 custom shower. Or a 3 x 3.5 custom shower with built-in cabinets next to it for girly stuff.

We put in really big medicine cabinets, and they are awesome. While you're at it, put an electric outlet in there...

This may be a crazy idea - but what about one of those European style glass partions for the tub - it would certainly keep from making the room seem small. I've always thought that it would make a huge water mess, but my neighbor has one and says it works great and was a lot cheaper than a frameless shower

I thought about one of those glass shower shields... but my concern is that it negates some of the reasons to have a tub: particularly bathing kids and pets. I think that if the glass was wide enough to prevent splashing, it would also get in the way of those activities. At which point, just have a shower! They look cool, though :)

If we had the budget, I would do another larger custom shower, like in the master. but I don't have that budget! it's either the free neo angle shower or a new (basic) tub/shower combo. I can do the tiling myself so at least we can make a nice tiled surround...

I vote for #3. That is the bathroom layout that we have in our one current bathroom. The only thing that drives me nuts about it is if I am standing at the sink and my husband wants to come in the room, I have to get out of the way of the door swing. Of course, we're using it as a master bath, which that type of bathroom is not designed to be. I think it is totally adequate for use by one person at a time.

In addition to doing a vanity (Ikea kitchen cabinet that I cut down a bit), we put storage cabinets above the toilet:

I find that the room has a good amount of storage as is, even without utilizing/organizing the storage under the sink very well.

can you put a pocket door into the bathroom??? that might help free up more space for storage options....... i would probably go with the shower, since you have such a nice tub option in the masterbath.

Thanks, folks!

yillimuh, what's the status of your master bath/closet area reno??? I have been wondering about that :) Thanks for posting the pic of your small bath. It's helpful to see it. I was worried about the door swing thing, too.

If I put a pocket door in, it negates using that wall for between-the-studs cabinet like we'd planned... but maybe that's a better trade-off.

I have to say that your master is breathtaking!

Unfortunately, I would have to agree to have a tub/shower combo for future resale with the possibility it's a couple with young children for bathing.

I think a pocket door moved to the other hall would open up your bathroom and make it feel larger. Until our master bath is complete, I've been sharing a hall bathroom with my teenage daughter and son for 6 years now because our master was too tiny for my stuff. My daughter has one door and one drawer that's her stuff, and we shared the area under the sink. Other than her nail polishes kept in her room, it's been plenty of room for her. She'll be happy to regain some space! (We used those small white plastic organizers with drawers under the door area for makeup, etc.)

I think for your daughter to have the bathroom to herself would be plenty of space. Now, a teenage daughter keeping it clean for guests.....that's where the real challenge is!!!! :)

I'm hoping to utilize this idea under the sink area to help keep the countertop area uncluttered:
Make a small, wood bench with cutouts and purchase commercial stainless steel silverware holders to rest inside the cutouts (like a very large and round drinking glass shape with a lip edge) for each the blowdryer and curling irons so that when finished with them and they're still hot, they can rest inside those to cool instead of on the countertop. Inevitably, if they're left on the countertop, they never seem to get put away! And if your daughter is anything like mine, buy a toilet paper holder that has the open end (my daughter NEVER puts a roll on our spring-loaded one)!

I would keep the tub with the new door placement but with a pocket door. It's hard to envision without standing in the space but I would think maybe you could place some kind of small scale, shallow, moveable cabinet on the wall where the door would have swung into the bathroom for add'l storage and a small amount of add'l surface area.

If you go with a pocket door, you can put up some really shallow floor-to-ceiling cabinets next to the window in layout 3. You don't need it deep for bottles of girly crud, you literally need 6" max, 4" if pressed for space. Handy DH and IKEA doors, bob's your uncle.

What about a pocket door on the short wall, and then put between-the-stud cabinets above the toilet? That'll give you about the same amount of storage (unless you were already planning to put cabinets there). Also, have you seen the new medicine cabinets from IKEA? They're quite large and totally mirrored inside and out, making them look even bigger.

Thanks for asking about our bathroom project. It is scheduled to start in July! We resolved the plumbing issue that we thought we had, so we're going ahead. I ended up buying the same tiles that you used, although I had to get the art tile minis because they're discontinuing that tile line and they were all out of the regular art tiles in the Blanco color. (Did you know that the photos of your bathroom are on their website?) So now I'm busy picking out paint colors and floor tiles and stuff. I'm really excited about starting it!

Thank you, folks!
stlouie- you are so right about the guest bath/teenager conflict. That's really where my storage concerns come from: I want to make it as easy as possible for her to PUT THINGS AWAY. It's probably a losing battle though. She is so caught up in whatever's going on in her head that she actually leaves cabinet doors wide open after taking something out of them. All the time! Good grief.
I like the stainless canister idea. I was thinking holding the edge of the vanity away from the side wall a few inches and installing hooks on the vanity. That way the curling iron, hair dryer, etc can hang there to cool off -as well as just live there plugged in. Right now she uses those items in her room, which works well, so maybe I will just insist she keep that up. I really want to keep as much girly mess as possible under wraps, since it's the guest bath.

yillimuh- I gave them permission to use the photos, it's OK. Did I already tell you to make sure to use bright white thinset? I thought I was over that disappointment (mine seem blue because a grey thinset was used) and then I recently found my design boards from last year showing the pure white tiles and the warm palette I'd originally picked out, and it made me sad all over again :(

I figured you gave them permission. It was cool to see them there. Yes, you mentioned the bright white thinset. I'll do my best to find some. I made a sample board using white thinset, but the tiles still have a faint blue look to them. I want to keep things on the grey side though, so it might be okay with me. I'm still trying to figure out a paint color. We're going to use the oak godmorgon sink from Ikea and dark gray slate on the floor.

If it makes you feel better, I love every single thing about your bathroom! I think the colors look great.

Thanks yillimuh! I actually do love it as is... it just isn't what I planned, y'know? Actually, I WILL love it when it's done. We haven't been able to shower for the last month and a half or so, because there was a problem with the shower floor and it had to be removed. Then the wrong tiles were sent, TWICE, and so we still don't have a working shower. PLus, the floor tile grout got stained by cleaner on Day One, when I was cleaning up from the tile guys shoes and some shipping marks on the tiles, so the floor is also in limbo. I think I am going to have to use one of those epoxy grout colorant thingies on all the floor grout lines just to make them look uniform. So sad! But it IS beautiful... and I'm hopeful that soon -maybe by the end of the week?- we'll be able to finally enjoy it.

Good luck with your reno! It sounds beautiful. I hope you'll post pics as you go along. :)

I have to go with the minority here. 2bd homes are not very popular with the Millenias I know who plan to have kids. They start off with 3bd homes right away. 2bd homes are for singles and DINKs like my DH and I. And that's a nice neo-angle shower, I think it would be a handsome addition to a small bathroom. Since you have a well-designed new master bath, that's a major selling point right there.

You know the saying, as CA goes, so follows the rest of the US in 15 years? People don't 'move up' to bigger houses automatically any more. Some still do, but a large percentage do not, mostly for tax and utility bill reasons. And showers are now preferred over baths - yes I know this drives the bath lovers crazy - but it's a fact, nowadays.

Sheesh, what a mess, Stacey! I hope it gets straightened out soon so you can enjoy your bathroom. How annoying to have such a gorgeous room right there and not be able to use it.

I'll definitely post pics when we get started! I'm now regretting that we chose to have the work start so far away. We have our reasons, and I'm not going to change the date, but now that we have decided to do this, I just want to get going!

My friend was remodeling her one and only bathroom. While she never took baths she was afraid to have a no bath house. She installed a shallow square bathtub. While it did cost more it has worked out great. Guests with kids have stayed over and used the bathtub.

I vote for layout #3.

You can get an 8" deep medicine cabinet, with 4" of it recessed, so there's plenty of room to store all sorts of stuff. Consider a wall-mounted hair dryer, like the ones in hotel rooms. Very easy to put the dryer away, even for a teen.

Then there's the wall behind the open door (or not behind the door, if you have a pocket door). You can mount a whole boatload of 2" wide bins to hold a myriad of makeup.

To make the room visually larger, use a transparent shower curtain. I'm assuming that there will be a lock on the door to keep people from walking in on the showerer;-)

And install large floor tile on the diagonal to make the room seem larger.

BTW, my hall/guest bath is 5'6" x 7'6", with a tub, toilet and 35" vanity, and it's ample for one person (or a parent and two little kids) at a time.

staceyneil,

I'm in the minority voting for the neo-angle shower. For me, bathing toddlers in a shower/tub combo with the faucet next to the toilet was not ideal, and within a few years they preferred showers anyway. My master bath has since been remodeled with a shower and a tub with easy access on 2 sides. If I had that when the kids were small, I would have bathed them in that tub instead. It might be helpful to get input from a realtor who specializes in your area and price range. Maybe your home appeals to the DINK couple or an about-to-be-empty-nester family. Both might prefer a shower in the hall bath.

As far as gaining storage while retaining an airy rather than densely packed feel, the space next to the neo-angle shower looks like all you'd need to augment the large medicine cabinet and concealed storage in the vanity wall. Could you could anchor a 21" wide by 18" deep semi-floating vanity to the corner walls? I'm envisioning a scaled-down version of the vanity in your master, but without a sink and installed at kitchen height. Would that leave enough space between the side of the vanity and the short wall of the shower without looking awkward? Maybe the vanity should be only 18" wide, with a small towel bar or hook on the side of the vanity.

Leaving a standard 18" above the new vanity, I would hang a 24" tall wall cabinet, possibly only about 9" deep, with glass doors in metal frame. If you have an 8' ceiling, that leaves 18" above the wall cabinet for storage or decorative items.

Those are the general ~~height~~ dimensions of a 56" wide dry bar near my kitchen. My dry bar is installed in a 24" deep niche that used to be part of a standard 8' closet. On each side wall, the 12" deep wall cabinets are attached to the wall through a 12" wide piece of matching wood that runs from the ceiling to the bottoms of the wall cabinets. On the 56" x 12" strip of ceiling above the wall cabinets, there is a flyover of matching wood with a puck light in the center. The front edge of the flyover is finished with the same very simple crown molding used in the rest of the kitchen. In your case, maybe the molding could wrap around the corner back to the wall.

I apologize if I come off as presumptuous by imposing my style preferences on your bathroom design! I've just noticed that we have similar taste in bathrooms, and I thought some elements of my dry bar might work for your bathroom. Seeing photos of your gorgeous master bath convinced me to go with a semi-recessed sink on a floating vanity.

Good luck with your remodel. I can't wait to see pictures!

docdom

Thank you, folks.

docdom, thanks for your kind words about our other bath :) And for the ideas. I'm intrigued by the vanity idea... but I gotta say, the vote tally on the 3 boards I posted this is
Tub/shower combo 28
Neo-angle shower 8

I did ask the realtor who specializes in this specific neighborhood and she said she had no distinct preference. Her thought was that the overall style and quality were far more important.

I have to say that although the shower is not a cheap one (it's American Standard and the base + doors were about $1000 new right before we bought the house) it seems a little cheaper to me than what we're doing elsewhere. Maybe not cheaper, just more "home depot" I guess with the chrome framing. Now if it was a sexy frameless shower that would be another thing! I don't know. Either one will have a nicely tiled enclosure which would bring the overall style in line with the rest of the house.

Well, I listed the shower on Craigslist this morning. If it sells right away, that'll make my decision for me!

Thanks, everyone, for your input :)

I guess there is no possibility of making your office closet open into your daughter's bedroom and fitting in a very compact shower, toilet and sink, giving her the privacy she needs and keeping the guest bath intact? She could possibly store bath-related items in a cabinet inside her room, close to the bathroom door. With the W/D backing up to that closet, there is plumbing in the common wall already. It might help re-sale to have another (if tiny) bath, but you would lose the option for the office to become a bedroom again without a closet and whatever storage it affords you now.

Just FYI - we have a frameless shower enclosure on a neo-angle shower, and I would NEVER do it again. The shower spray, when centered on one wall (which of course looks best), sprays directly on the hinges of the door...so it leaks. We have had them out to fix it several times, but there is no way to guarantee water-tightness with a frameless.